Far be it from me to ask whether or not someone is the right person for their job, though when the signs are as clear as this it’s difficult to ignore the realities of the situation. As is the case across the board in Irish life, the music scene has suffered a constant beat down since 2008. At the epicentre of this is the live scene – the scuffling and excitement for the announcement of big shows has waned dramatically with tickets remaining available for even the biggest draws right until the last minute in the vast majority of cases.
It is on the back of these re-evaluated means that comes the least interesting announcement for a Slane headliner in the thirty years that the Co. Meath site has been seen as a concert venue. Cast your mind back to the beginning of this year and relive the plethora of Bon Jovi ads that plagued daytime radio, ticket sales to the New Jersey act’s two RDS shows remaining on sale right up until that third chorus of ‘It’s My Life’.The mind boggles as to what Lord Henry Mountcharles and co. are thinking in booking the veteran rockers for what was once the highlight of the Irish musical calendar. After the Oasis disaster in 2009 (having witnessed the organisational chaos, as well as the band meltdown, in person, I can assure you that very few people made it out with a shred of dignity intact, Kasabian and the Prodigy notwithstanding), the task was a difficult one to rejuvenate the site and they managed it perfectly with the Kings of Leon’s 4000th Irish show two years later. A youthful, enthusiastic crowd witnessed a sell-out show with public order offences far lower than they had been at the previous instalment.It seems, though, that MCD are still smarting from their dressing down across the board last year on the back of the now infamous Swedish House Mafia show in the Phoenix Park. There was much to be learned from the series of concerts that also featured the Stone Roses and a double header of Florence & the Machine and Snow Patrol, though it seems as though MCD missed the point.People simply cannot afford these huge outdoor shows in the manner that they once did. The question here is not whether or not Bon Jovi are any good (they aren’t, for the record) but as to whether the appetite is there to see middle aged rockstars play in a field for €80 (tickets actually range as high as €96).Looking back through the 2012 gig calendar, it has been far from a stellar year. Even in the absence of Oxegen, ticket sales were slow for some bigger events. While Jay-Z and Kanye West sold out one date in the O2 in no time at all, the second one was a rather limp affair, tickets reduced for “student and unemployed” discounts in the weeks before the show. Bruce Springsteen in the RDS was a similar situation: the first night selling out immediately, the second had tickets on sale until the Boss was on stage. The ads for Neil Diamond, Madonna and Bon Jovi were played on Irish radio more than Adele in an attempt to push sales. Even the supposed guaranteed sell-out of the Stone Roses in Phoenix Park failed to reach those heights.However, the appetite was there for a certain type of show. Florence & the Machine and Snow Patrol in the Phoenix Park was a sell-out, the Killers in the O2 also. Muse and Bon Iver were near capacity in the O2, with the nosebleeds the only seats left free.Undoubtedly, these acts would struggle to sell out Slane (Snow & Flo the possible exception), but the fact that MCD have yet to piece together the puzzle is staggering. Sure, the Rolling Stones might sell out Slane if they return for a third time, but such a draw is rare nowadays. People are more concerned with value for money than a novelty rock act – I’d be willing to bet that a double or triple header featuring any of the likes of Snow Patrol, Florence & the Machine, Two Door Cinema Club, the Killers, Coldplay and, for some reason, the Script would be a far more successful affair than welcoming back an aged musician without a hit in recent memory.Granted, Slane has always been a slot for nostalgia acts, but changes in this regard are long overdue. Drop the ticket prices or adjust the acts accordingly, it’s simply not realistic to do anything else anymore.
